Epic old games which are still being played online

Rarely do you see games still packing servers years and sometimes even a decade after its release. But here are some games which puts caffeine and drugs to shame. Be it their flawless recipes for madness or the nostalgia factor which keeps us coming back for more, these games just refuse to die and weÂ wouldn’tÂ have it any other way.

Gamersmint takes a look at 10 such games which still boasts of a healthy online community playing them, even after years of its release.

1. Phantasy Star Online

Release Date: January 29, 2001

Phantasy Star Online is the perfect example for explaining just how much the Dreamcast was ahead of its time. This was the first time console gamers got a taste of the online revolution which was soon to follow. Phantasy Star Online ran on a 56 KBps connection which is unimaginable these days and still managed to kick ass.

Even though the official servers have long been dead, PSO left such a legacy that fans refused to let it hit the dust and managed to keep the game alive through private servers. For a console game, this was unheard of.

2. Unreal Tournament 2004

Release date: March 16, 2004

The first Unreal Tournament took PC online shooters to a whole new level of absurdity when it wasÂ first released. And expectedly, the sequels raised the bar even further. UT 2004 made the biggest leap forward with the addition of vehicles and the Onslaught mode which made its mark on every single FPS released since then.

Unreal Tournament 3 was pretty much UT 2004 with a new look and some added vehicles. With insanely fun and addictive multiplayer which never manages to get old, it shouldnâ€™t come as a huge surprise that UT 2004 still has a huge fan following. Hell, there are probably more gamers playing UT 3 than UT 2004 right now.

3. Age of Empires 2

Release date: September 30, 1999

With competitors like Command & Conquer, Warcraft and Starcraft, Age of Empires 2 had a rough road ahead. The broken tracks laid down by its flawed predecessor didn’t help causes either. But Ensemble Studios managed to carve its own mark on the genre by taking everything which defined the genre and adding its own personal touches.

We spent days, weeks and months trying out every single nation and team combination and revisit the game every now and then even today. Ensemble Studios, you might be gone but you left a legacy behind which will echo in the industry for years to come.

4. Star Wars Battlefront 2

Release date: November 1, 2005

Probably the second best star wars game after KOTOR, Battlefront gave us a breath of fresh air with its class implementations. Sure, there were classes in tons of FPSâ€™s before but never a TPS. The game demanded teamwork and kept gamers at the edge of their seats. But the sequel added a whole new dimension with the inclusion of Heroes.

Battlefront 2 was also one of the first games on consoles with achievements that actually affected gameplay. But it was the ability to play as iconic characters in minor skirmishes that stole the show. Who wouldnâ€™t want to fight Yoda with Darth Vader along with a battalion of soldiers behind your back?

5. Quake 1-3

Quake was one the first games that let you take your skills online instead of owning your friends over LAN. The very fact that it gave birth to its very own convention which still goes strong today speaks for itself. Quake 3 Arena saw the peak for the franchise with it near-perfect formula for madness which resulted in fragfests lasting hours at end.

There’s a small but VERY dedicated group of wargamers who still play the Combat Mission series of games (the last of the originals, Afrika Corps, came out in 2004). 10 years after the release of the first game (Operation Overlord) there is still nothing that even comes close. Sure, the graphics are pretty simple and dated, but the core game engine and the level of detail that it contains is unsurpassed to this day.

Koitenshin

You’re forgetting one of the best FPS games out there, Starsiege: Tribes. Not Tribes 2 but the original.

bunyamin

fallout 2 baby… wooohoooo !!!!!!!!!!!

GizMo

I liked Counter Strike 1.5 better than 1.6 only because Steam took over on 1.6 and it was pretty crappy at first..

Duke

No Duke Nukem 3D eh?

http://www.mullanaphy.com/ Mullanaphy!

I loaded up Day of Defeat the other day (not Source) and have to say it is still as insanely fun as it’s always been,

http://movementfortruth.com dustin

I love cs, but i play source a bit more. Smoother graphics, no not because im shallow but these days, 1.6 kinda hurts my eyes to play, although i still play it on occasion. cs/cs-source is my go-to for a quick 30 minute stress relief.

also if you play cs-source, check out the minigame maps (search for maps named mg_)

they add a pretty cool twist to the game

name

I’m not gonna lie, with “tell us” bolded like that I was kind of expecting some sort of link…

Thobinator

Total Annihilation is a for sure for this list. It’s still my all-time favorite game.Â